UNESCO officials are expected in the province in the coming days as part of efforts to have a big portion of the Bonavista Peninsula recognized as a UNESCO GeoPark.
The concept is about incorporating the early fossils found in the Port Union area, with the area’s unique geological and cultural features to generate economic opportunities and attract geo-tourism.
Jack Matthews is a research fellow from Oxford University and a post-doctoral fellow with Memorial University’s Department of Earth Sciences.
He’s part of a team conducting research work on some of the oldest known complex life forms on the planet.
The fossils of those early creatures have been found at Mistaken Point on the tip of the Avalon Peninsula and Port Union.
(File photo of Mistaken Point.)
Matthews is returning to the province from the UK this week for a very important occasion.
Two UNESCO evaluators are arriving in the province in the next few days to check on the geopark and allow them their accreditation.
Jack Matthews spoke with VOCM’s Linda Swain. Listen below:
